Steel

Importance of Steel

Steel has had a major influence on our lives, the cars we drive, the buildings we work in, the homes in which we live and countless other facets in between. Steel is used in our electricity-power-line towers, natural-gas pipelines, machine tools, military weapons-the list is endless. Steel has also earned a place in our homes in protecting our families, making our lives convenient, its benefits are undoubtedly clear.

Steel is by far the most important, multi-functional and most adaptable of materials. The development of mankind would have been impossible but for steel. The backbone of developed economies was laid on the strength and inherent uses of steel.

The various uses of steel which in turn is a measure of adaptability of steel can be judged from the following characteristics of steel:

Hot and cold formable
Weldable
Suitable machinability
Hard, tough and wear resistant
Corrosion resistant
Heat resistant and resistance to deformation at high temperatures.

Steel compared to other materials of its type has low production costs. The energy required for extracting iron from ore is about 25 % of what is needed for extracting aluminum. Steel is environment friendly as it can be recycled. 5.6 % of element iron is present in earth's crust, representing a secure raw material base. Steel production is 20 times higher as compared to production of all non-ferrous metals put together.

The steel industry has developed new technologies and has strived hard to make the world's strongest and most versatile material even better. There are altogether about 2000 grades of steel developed of which 1500 grades are high grade steels. There is still immense potential for developing new grades of steel with varying properties .The large number of grades gives steel the characteristic of a basic production material Steel has enjoyed an important position in our lives and will continue to do so in the years to come. However, the degree to which it maintains its dominant position will depend on if steel can exploit its potential by developing new higher grades and adaptable grades . This can be achieved by refining the structure and applying alloying techniques and thus furthering its utility value. We will have to find out ways to use steel and be ready to face a stiff competition from Aluminium in the future.

History of Iron & Steel Industry

It is believed that iron in pre-historic times may have been obtained from fragments of meteorites and it remained a rare metal for many centuries. Even after man learned how to extract iron from its ores, the product probably was so relatively soft and unpredictable, that bronze continued to be preferred for tools and weapons. Eventually iron replaced the non-ferrous metal for these purposes when man learned how to master the difficult arts of smelting, forging, hardening and tempering iron.

Man's use of iron in antiquity is attested by references to the metal in fragmentary writing and inscriptions from the ancient civilizations of Babylon, Egypt, China, India, Greece and Rome. Archeological finds in Mesopotamia and Egypt are proof that iron, and later steel, have been in the service of mankind for almost 6000 years. In early times, iron was melted with the use of charcoal made from wood. Later coal was discovered as a great source of heat. Subsequently, it was converted into coke, which was found to be ideal for smelting of iron ore.

Iron kept its dominant position for around 200 or more years after the Saugus works, the first successful iron works in America, was founded in 1646. With the advance of the Industrial Revolution, iron formed the rails for the newly invented railroad trains. It was also used to amour the sides of the fighting ships. About the mid-19th century, the age of steel began with the invention of the Bessemer process (1856), which allowed steel to be made in large quantities and at reasonable cost.

Use of Iron in Ancient India

Indian history is also full of references to the use of iron and steel. Some of the ancient monuments like the famous Iron pillar in New Delhi or the massive beams used in the Sun Temple at Konark bear ample testimony to the technological excellence of ancient Indian metallurgists.

The use of iron in India goes back to the ancient era. Vedic literary sources such as the Rig Veda, the Atharva Veda, the Puranas and epics are filled with references to iron and to its uses in peace and war. According to one of the studies, iron has been produced in India for over 3000 years in primitive, small-scale facilities.

Some milestones in Iron & Steel in Indian History